Chicken Cordon Bleu

Easter is over and now the question all of us are asking ourselves, “What do I do with this leftover ham?” The answer could be lots of things including, omelets, ham fried rice, breakfast burritos, hambone soup, ham sandwiches or this delicious option: Chicken Cordon Bleu. I know this may seem like a daunting recipe but it really was so easy and came together quickly. It is well worth the time and it makes for a lovely dinner that is something special and different from the usual dinner rotation.

In Culinary Arts school we learned about mise en place, which translated from French means “set up”. This is a huge time saver especially when making a new recipe. Trust me, it may seem like it takes more time to set up, but it saves so much time when it comes to making any recipe, helps you stay organized, prevents forgetting an ingredient and prevents burning food while you are chopping the next ingredient. So you see from my mise en place, I used fresh chicken breasts, baby Swiss cheese, spiral sliced ham, a ham dipping sauce that I love from OUR BEST BITES and a combination of Panko and plain bread crumbs.

I slice the chicken breasts lengthwise. Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and using a kitchen mallet, pound the thicker parts to flatten. This makes it much easier to fold or roll and ensures more even cooking because it is almost all one thickness.

Season with salt and pepper on the top side of the chicken and then layer with a piece of Swiss cheese, a slice of ham and then another slice of Swiss cheese. Of course, you can use any ham you’d like or have on hand. Also, I like Baby Swiss cheese because it has a milder taste and seems softer to me.

Now fold the bottom half up and secure with a skewer or toothpick.

Using a rubber spatula, spread the folded chicken with the sauce and then place directly on the bread crumbs. I like to use a spoon to coat and then pat the crumbs on to cover on both sides.

Now spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and place the coated pieces on the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the thickest part of the largest piece is 165 degrees on a digital meat thermometer.

YUM! The crumbs are crunchy, the chicken is moist and the cheese is gooey and melty. Delicious!

This homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu has it all: tender chicken breasts, wrapped around baby swiss cheese and spiral-cut ham, slathered with a delicious and tangy sauce, dipped and coated in a combination of panko and bread crumbs then oven baked. The result is a crispy and tender cordon bleu with a mouth watering, melted cheese and ham filling. ENJOY!